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Published: March 14th 2009
Day 244: Saturday 28th February - I’m a millionaire!
“Taksi sir, taxsi” is the cry from dozens of hawkers as I step out of the airport. I may have left Australia just a couple of hours before but Bali is a world apart. Busy and intense to Darwin’s laid back charm, just watching people is fun. I had hoped to sleep in the airport to save some cash as I fly on to Flores tomorrow but you have to get through security so that option disappears. Instead, I decide to stay the night in a hotel near the airport. Drawn in by the impressive photos I end up paying 200,000 Rupiah (12 pounds) for a kingsize deluxe suite, breakfast and transfers to and from the airport. It sounds too good to be true, as I was paying this for a dorm in Australia. My scepticism isn’t unwarranted, the picture was either taken at another hotel or some years ago. It’s not too bad though, deluxe it isn’t but at least I have a TV and there is some premier league football on, which is always enough to get the thumbs up from an Englishman.
Just to get to Bali
has been a challenge. At check-in in Darwin, I was informed that I had to have proof of departure from Indonesia as a condition of Jetstar carrying me to Indonesia. The guy on check-in insisted that without this the Indonesian authorities wouldn’t allow me entry into the country. Being a backpacker wanting to keep a flexible itinerary, having an onward flight out of Indonesia is something I don’t have or want. To be honest, I didn’t even think I would need this. Having experienced many straightforward border crossings in South America maybe lulled me into a false sense of security. Oh bugger is my immediate thought, followed by a hasty search for an internet connection. Of course, when you need Wifi in a hurry there are no connections so I have an anxious wait until the only internet terminal in the building becomes free. Now I have to work this out quickly, not the ideal conditions to be booking a flight. It goes something like this:
Okay, date first; well I know it is a 30 day visa you get on arrival so let’s go for a flight 30 days from now. What’s the next logical step? That’s it;
where I’m flying from and to. Singapore is where I want to get to and I will be island hopping west to Sumatra. What’s the biggest city in Sumatra? Medan. Right okay let’s see if I can get a flight from Medan to Singapore 30 days from now which is the 29th March. Which airline? Let’s have a look if Jetstar fly the route. Brilliant they do and they fly on that date and for only $33US. Superb, even if I choose not to use the flight I haven’t exactly lost much. I book the flight and forward the confirmation to an e-mail address the guy on check-in has given me and told me I need to send it to. This all happens in 15 minutes. I’m impressed with myself - that doesn’t happen often! - I managed to keep cool despite not having a great deal of time, having to wait to get on the internet and then having the patience to deal with one of the world’s worst keyboards.
When I return to check-in, this time dealing with a different member of staff, they mention nothing about the requirement to have an onward flight. More to the
point when I get to immigration in Bali they also don’t probe me. I have to admit I was a bit perplexed by the demands of the first check-in staff member, but when someone says you’re not boarding the plane unless you have an onward ticket, you naturally go and do something about it. Onward ticket or not isn’t my issue at the other end, Bali immigration want $25US or $45Australian or 350,000 Rupiah for my visa. I look in my wallet and I have only $40 Australian....great! My emergency US Dollar stash is in my check-in luggage which I’ve not yet been reunited with, so what now? They let me go to the ATM and at just after 9pm on the last day in February 2009, 7 months after my 31st birthday, clutching a fistful of notes, I have become a millionaire! It’s a Rupiah millionaire mind, not quite the same status as it would be if it was in my home currency. It sounds a lot but it’s only about 60 quid!! Now I have the ability to pay, my Visa is quickly granted and I’m off to face the madness of Bali.
Day 245 - Sunday
1st March - Bumped off my flight to Flores
When I get to the airport to pay for my ticket to Maumere in Flores I find that the flight is full. Yes, but I have a confirmed reservation and flash a printout from the internet is my response. “That doesn’t matter sir, you had to confirm within 72 hours of the booking”. My thoughts which I keep to myself are that I am confirmed on the flight, but already I can see this is going to be a fruitless conversation. A couple of locals overhear my conversation and before I know it they are offering to get me on the flight for 1.5 million Rupiah. The ticket should cost 1.2 million Rupiah so I happily go along with it, if that’s how things work around here. One of the guys takes my passport and goes into the terminal to see if he can procure a ticket. I’m less than happy with letting my passport out of site to a complete stranger, airport policeman or not. I sit talking to the other guy, a taxi driver called Made for the next two hours whilst the other guy returns with my
passport then disappears again into the terminal. As the minutes pass I can sense this isn’t going to be my day and that I’m going to be prolonging my stay in Bali. No other airlines fly to Flores, save Merpati so my best option is to do Bali first before flying to Flores next week. Eventually, the policeman returns without a ticket so I get Made to take me into Kuta. Made keeps trying to drop me off at upmarket hotels before finally he gets the message that I don’t want to pay more than 70,000 Rupiah (£5) per night. I take his card and arrange for him to pick me up the day after tomorrow for a day tour of Bali.
My accommodation is basic but is right in the middle of backpacker country in Kuta - Poppies II. I drop my bags and go off in search of a travel agent who I’ve been in contact with. On the way I pass the memorial to the people killed in the Bali bombings back in 2002, which happened here in Kuta. I’m hoping the travel agent can book me on to a flight to Flores with more success
than I’ve had. I tried to get a ticket at the airport for next week after being shunted off today’s flight, only to be told I needed an address in Bali. The agent doesn’t fare much better than myself, being told that they’re putting an electronic system in and to try again tomorrow. The combination of the flight debacle and the army of hawkers that don’t give you a moment’s peace as you walk Kuta’s overcrowded alleys, has me worn out by the end of the afternoon. If it’s not “ice cream, ice cream” as I sit on the beach it’s “massarge, massarge” or “transport.... motorbike” as I wander around. You can’t escape the rampant commerce and the frenetic energy of Kuta as you stroll down its bustling alleys.
After retrenching back to my accommodation for a few hours R&R, I choose to brave the mania outside once again. At least I have rediscovered the ability to watch English football, in Bali it seems to be everywhere. Tonight is a big game, it’s the Carling cup final between my team, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. It ends up going to extra time and penalties meaning that it doesn’t finish
until 2am local time. Who cares? I’ve had a good night, Manchester United have won and I’ve had 4 beers and a meal for a fiver! In Australia or back home it would be at least three times that. Walking back to my hotel along the main drag, JL Legian, Kuta is still very much alive, the bars and clubs are still going strong, the beats rolling out on to the street. Kuta could almost be any of the party resorts around the Mediterranean, just more intense.
Day 246: Monday 2nd March - Becoming ignorant
No I don’t want a massarge/transport/a tour/a motorbike/surfboard/taksi, to buy your wares. If you’re Balinese, reside in Kuta, please delete as applicable. I’m finding myself becoming ignorant with all the barracking. Today I fancied just chilling out on the beach but there’s nothing relaxing about that when you’re getting constant attention from hawkers, the beach is rock solid, dirty and overcrowded and the weather is overcast. I had heard the beach wasn’t as crowded in the next resort up, Legian, but it’s more like a continuation of Kuta, and certainly doesn’t warrant the extra walk. Instead, I decide to have some down time
in one of Kuta’s many bars and restaurants away from the intensity outside. In the evening, I walk through the maze that is Poppies I & II to a bar that is showing the latest Bond movie. I get some food, a couple of Bintang’s (the local beer) and sit back to enjoy the film. I didn’t think it was one of the better Bond’s but following the action wasn’t the easiest with a motorbike roaring past at regular intervals.
Day 247: Tuesday 3rd March - Going on a road trip around Bali
Made picks me up at 10am. I tell him I want to see four temples, finishing at one for sunset and the Tegallalang rice terraces. I told him this on the phone yesterday as well and he wasn’t sure then if it was possible, and a day hasn’t made any difference. His protest is with taking me to Bali’s mother temple, Besakih which is in the northern part of the island. Kuta, where we’re starting from is in the south. I can’t understand his reluctance, its only 60km on the map from Kuta to Besakih, how long can that take? To avoid further dispute I
climb aboard and tell him we will go to the Tanah Lot and Ulu Danu temples, followed by the Tegallalang rice terraces and then we’ll see if we have enough time to visit the Besakih temple before heading south to Ulu Watu temple for sunset. Before we even reach Tanah Lot, I understand where he is coming from. Despite the short distances involved the traffic is extremely busy, and progress is slow. I could have hired a motorbike just as I have before in Corfu and Easter Island, but I’m pleased I didn’t. The traffic is at another level altogether from those places. The island may only measure 120km by 80km, but it is home to over 3 million people, and it seems the heaviest concentration of these is in the south, where we’re trying to negotiate our way through. It takes an hour to drive the 20km to get to Tanah Lot, the temple with a quaint island setting. As its high tide the island is unreachable, but that doesn’t stop me taking numerous shots of its photogenic location. On the way into the temple, a local asks me if I want a photo of his pet python, it
must be 5 metres so I politely decline, I don’t fancy getting any nearer - it’s huge and I’ve had my fill of snakes in Australia. Later on the journey around the island, I get another photo opportunity with some bats, which again I decline. Is this a feature of Bali? Find an animal and wait until some unsuspecting tourist passes by wanting a photo and pounce on them for as much money as they’ll give you?
From Tanah Lot we drive up into Bali’s highlands, to Lake Bratan. Ulu Danu Bratan temple sits on Lake Bratan and is even more photogenic than Tanah Lot. Inside the temple complex, a Hindu ceremony is happening. Tourists aren’t allowed to enter, but the general atmosphere enhances my visit. The outer temple buildings are decked in orange and white colours and a band is playing some traditional Balinese music, various percussion instruments accompanied by a flute-like instrument. Ulu Danu represents the most northerly point of our journey, and afterwards Made drives us to Baturiti for lunch with a panoramic view over rice terraces. The view is amazing, but the buffet is priced accordingly at 70,000 Rupiah (£4), which although it doesn’t sound
a lot, is expensive for Indonesia. I can’t have Made eating elsewhere or going without so I invite him to join me in what seems to be more a Chinese style buffet than Indonesian. Our next destination, the Tegallalang rice terraces may only be 20km as the crow flies but because there is no direct route, it ends up being more than double the distance. The emerald-green rice terraces lie in a river gorge north of Ubud, which we pass through, and where I’ll leave Kuta for tomorrow. They are worth the detour and I can understand why they are considered the most impressive on the island. With the afternoon wearing on, Made’s opinion this morning proves correct, we don’t have enough time to get to Besakih temple and make it to Uluwatu for sunset, so I opt for the latter.
Uluwatu temple is dramatically perched on a high headland overlooking the breaking surf. Again, tourists are not allowed to enter the temple and can just admire its location. Numerous playful monkeys are within the temple compound, either grooming each other, hassling tourists or gazing out over the Indian Ocean as the sun sets. Shortly after I arrive a
Kecak dance performance is due to begin. I pay to watch the enchanting Balinese dancers entertainingly tell some ancient story through dance that I can’t follow but that doesn’t seem to matter. Even better than the dance performance, is the sunset. Before I’d arrived in Bali I’d read or heard about the beautiful sunset’s and this one doesn’t disappoint as the sky spectacularly turns first a deep orange and then a red behind the show. Its 7pm when the dancing finishes and Made wants to take me to his home town of Jimbaran, which lies between Ulu Watu and Kuta, to get dinner. Ordinarily I wouldn’t object as his description sounds enticing but I need to get back to Kuta to pick up my flight ticket to Flores from the agency and my 10 hour agreement will finish at 8pm, and although he’s more than happy to extend it, it will end up being an expensive dinner.
We arrive back in Kuta shortly after 8pm and I’m shattered after a busy but fulfilling day. Not only have I seen 3 beautiful temples in incredible settings as well as the Tegallalang rice terraces, a Balinese dance performance and a spectacular
sunset but I’ve been able to experience much, much more of the island as we drove around. We’ve driven past countless other temples (Bali is supposed to have over 10,000 temples), I’ve experienced the beauty of the tropical countryside including numerous rice terraces, palm trees and tropical fruit trees, viewed village life decked out in the colours of the political party they are supporting in the forthcoming election, and then there’s the crazyness of the roads in Bali is a sight to behold. Just about every household seems to own a motorbike, and quite how they balance the loads they carry on the back of the bikes without crashing into each other I just can’t fathom. I finish the day with a traditional Indonesian meal, Nasi Goreng the national dish. It’s basically fried rice with a fried egg on top with some chicken and seafood mixed in as well. To date I’ve avoided the local food, being more comfortable with international fare but it seems an appropriate way to finish my day of exploring the best of Bali.
Day 248: Wednesday 4th March - Cheeky Balinese Macaques
I get a shuttle bus transfer from Kuta to Ubud with
the travel agency I’ve been using. I don’t think I’m ready yet to brave the local buses, which are crowded, never go directly to where you want to and don’t appear to operate on any kind of schedule, just going when they’re full. Once I get to Ubud just before midday, my thinking is to head further north to Gunung Batur, one of Bali’s volcano’s, which I want to climb tomorrow. I enquire at the agency in Ubud and whilst there is a bus that goes north, the details are sketchy and for the last of the reasons listed above I opt to find my own transport. I’m inundated with offers of either a motorbike taxi or a car taxi. The motorbike may be cheaper but I don’t fancy balancing on the back with all my bags for an hour and a half. I hop in a taxi with a guy called Lele who immediately starts the hard sell of a return trip, including guide to Gunung Batur for 800,000 Rupiah. Perama, the agency I’ve been using will do it for 600,000 Rupiah but they need a minimum of two people. We seem to drive around and around the Ubud
area until we eventually agree on 650,000 Rupiah (£40). He drops me at a guesthouse and I agree to pay him a 100,000 Rupiah deposit. I’m not sure I’m 100% cool with this, but I suppose he needs a guarantee that I won’t look elsewhere if he’s to get up at 3am tomorrow to pick me up. For me, I guess it’s only the equivalent of £6 if he doesn’t show up. I’m sure he will with the balance to be paid and a tempter (which I don’t intend to fulfil) of additional taxi work the day after thrown in to the mix as well.
After catching my breath over some tea after having to haggle a price with Lele, I set off for a brief look around Ubud. I decide that the Monkey Forest sanctuary sounds like it’s worth a look. It is a patch of forest inhabited by a troop of cheeky, ever-hungry long-tailed Balinese macaques. They’re the same species of monkeys as those last night at Ulu Watu. This time I’ve got more time to be entertained by these consummate comedians but I keep a close eye on my bag with these kleptomaniacs around. There are
three temples also in the forest complex to have a look at, but it’s the monkeys that are the star attraction as they chomp on food, try to crack nuts open, wrestle each other, groom each other or decide to get aggressive and charge at you. I then have an early dinner, followed by an even earlier night ahead of my trek tomorrow up Gunung Batur for sunrise.
Day 249: Thursday 5th March - Climbing Gunung Batur
I have a restless few hours sleep, whether it’s subconsciously knowing I have to be up at 2:30am or the fact that my guesthouse backs on to one of Ubud’s main streets I don’t know. Lele shows up on cue at 3am and we have an hour’s drive ahead of us to Toya Bungkah, the starting point of my trek up Gunung Batur. Lele asks for the balance of the money to be paid on arrival. I don’t know why, but I maintain a healthy suspicion of whether he will still be there when I return to the bottom five hours later. It’s not him in particular, I just have this feeling about the Balinese in general that they are out
to rip you off at every opportunity, although at present I have no hard evidence for my view. When we arrive, I’m paired up with my guide, Norman, for the trek to the top of Gunung Batur. Gunung Batur is Bali’s fourth highest peak at an altitude of 1717 metres, and like many of the mountains that dot the Indonesian landscape , it is volcanic. Indeed, Norman lists off all of the known eruptions of Batur as we walk initially through various vegetable crops. He must list at least half a dozen in the last 200 years, the last of which was only about a decade ago. The climb isn’t that difficult, even in the dark, although it’s easy when you have a guide showing you the way. Two hours later after climbing 600 metres, we’re stood on top of Gunung Batur, with a view down to Lake Batur at the bottom of a huge caldera below and across the lake to the even higher peaks of Gunung Abang and Gunung Agung. We wait in the chilling temperatures with anticipation to the much vaunted sunrise. Sadly, the cloudy weather of the wet season ruins the opportunity and I’m left to
use my imagination of what I’m sure would have otherwise been a spectacular setting. When the cloud does clear momentarily, I stare down into the crater below and out to the lava flows which provide evidence of its recent active past. We return to Toya Bungkah via a walk around the crater where Lele is waiting to take me back to Ubud. He asks me if I enjoyed it, and expectantly waits for an answer in the affirmative. I enjoyed the exercise and the view was good from the top, but the cloudy weather definitely took something away from the trek. Still, no regrets.
I’m back in Ubud in time for breakfast, despite having been up for 8 hours! It’s the usual fare of fruit, banana pancakes (although this one looks a radioactive blue!! ), and black tea, which every hotel/guesthouse to date has provided with the room. After relaxing on the veranda outside my room, I stroll down the street to get a Balinese massage. I’ve been asked countless times over the last week if I wanted one, and eventually I had to yield. Now is the perfect timing, an opportunity to get a deep tissue massage to
help my weary muscles recover. It’s an hour of sheer bliss, and if massages were this cheap (£3.50) back in the UK, I would make it my regular after work activity. I spend the remainder of my afternoon in Kafe, a bohemian hang-out offering a healthy western menu which becomes a second home during my stay in Ubud. By the mid-evening I’m exhausted after my day’s exertions and retire to bed.
Day 250: Friday 6th March - Catching my breath in Ubud
Finally, I’ve found a fellow traveller to talk to! After spending six days where my only conversation was with Rupiah-thirsty locals or Indonesian tourists speaking broken English, I meet Johan a Dutch guy who is in the room along from mine. We spend an hour or so talking before he has to catch his bus, but we agree that the reality of Bali hasn’t lived up to the hype of the idyllic island that is portrayed in tourist literature. For a traveller, Bali hasn’t set my world alight. If it has stunning beaches I haven’t found them, and Kuta beach is highly rated in that regard. Kuta caters more for the tourist on a short vacation
than a traveller, having said that I’m glad I saw it as I do think it is part of the essential Bali experience. Sadly, the Bali experience is in many ways too touristy, over-developed, over-crowded with non-Balinese trying to get on the back of the raving tourist economy and yes too many hawkers detracting from the beauty of the island. True, it has some interesting Hindu culture and I’ve enjoyed visiting three of the foremost temples on the island but this isn’t enough to warrant its stellar reputation. Perhaps though it would appear so different if you were staying in a luxurious hotel with all the trappings, a private beach to relax on, and could partake in the excursions around the island to its highlights without the hassle......yes I can see why the rich and famous continue to flock here.
Talking with Johan, who has also spent time in Australia and New Zealand, reaffirms my feelings of the past few days. At the time, I don’t think I appreciated how special these countries were, particularly the beauty of New Zealand’s scenery. Unfortunately, New Zealand came on the back of my favourite part of my trip to date - Patagonia
- and instead of enjoying it for what it was, I was comparing it to South America. I think at the time I commented that these countries didn’t have that extra dimension of a different culture and were too easy to travel. I was wrong, you should appreciate those countries for what they are not what they aren’t. I’ve found the last week hard, a definite low point in the last 8 months. It has taken time to adapt to the change in culture and that process is on-going. I think I’m coming to terms with it, but there has been more than one occasion when I’ve longed for the comforts of home and to curtail my travel plans. Part of the problem is that in Indonesia, accommodation is in your own room in guesthouses rather than in dorms in hostels, which makes it harder to meet people. I’ve also had it spelled out to me how important the people you meet are to the whole experience. Maybe, Indonesia is a bit off the average traveller’s radar, and that they usually they skip straight from Singapore to Australia?? Whatever, tomorrow I leave Bali behind for the even more often bypassed
island of Flores, which promises something different. I hope that it’s a different that I will like, but if it isn’t I can always hop on to the next island or even shorten my stay in Indonesia altogether. This past week has been a valuable lesson. A traveller’s life may in many ways be different to reality and everyday life, but in many respects it is the same. You still have ups and downs but I’m certainly not about to quit after the first real down.
Back to the day at hand, I walk around Ubud, which hasn’t the frenzied atmosphere of Kuta. I bump into Lele who asks if I require his services today. I say that although I’d like to go to Besakih (the mother temple and the only one of Bali’s four most famous temples I haven’t visited), I would rather have a relaxing day doing not a great deal. Ubud is Bali’s cultural heart, with a temple on virtually every street corner and numerous local art and craft shops to browse through. In the past I believe it was promoted as being the real Bali, but it has become a victim of its own success,
and is heading the way of Kuta with hawkers, over-development and being too busy. I decide to have some Balinese food for lunch and head to a restaurant which specialises in one dish - babi guleng. It is suckling pig with rice cooked Balinese style with crackling. It’s good and it’s cheaper than the western food I’ve been having. The rest of the day I spend relaxing over a book, before having one last meal in my favourite thing about Ubud, Kafe.
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